1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the general field of electronic signal disruption devices, and more specifically, to a remote isolator interface which uses a vehicle's OEM remote (or aftermarket remote door lock) entry signal to interface between the vehicle's battery/OEM electrical system and aftermarket electrical equipment in a variety of ways. In combination with a magnetic battery disconnect the invention electronically separates the OEM electrical systems—including the vehicle's battery—from aftermarket systems such that if the aftermarket system has a short or power spike, it does not damage the OEM system. It also shuts off power to the aftermarket systems when the OEM remote entry locks the doors of the vehicle, or if the vehicle's electric door locks are used to lock the vehicle doors, such that the battery is not drained by the aftermarket systems once the car is shut off. The invention allows electrical current to reach the aftermarket systems when the OEM remote entry unlocks the vehicle doors or if the vehicles' electric door locks are used to unlock the vehicle. A final aspect of the invention is it can be combined with a fused distribution panel to become a single source of power for any aftermarket equipment, thereby eliminating the need for an installer to cut into the OEM systems for a power source.
2. History of the Invention
Vehicle batteries are designed to retain adequate charge to start a car even after supporting the OEM systems for several weeks. Thus, when a businessperson leaves his or her car in an airport parking lot for a month, he or she expects it to start right upon turning the ignition key. Starting with the first installation of aftermarket electrical accessories, such as stereos with memory, mobility lifts and equipment, GPS systems, and many other current drawing items, there has been a need to separate the additional aftermarket equipment from the OEM electrical system when not in use.
While some of these aftermarket accessories drew little current, some, like mobility lifts with interlocks, draw a considerable amount of current. Under normal conditions, this presents few problems as the vehicle's alternator recharges the battery as the car is driven. When the car is turned off, theoretically only the original OEM equipment should draw power from the battery, but realistically, some of the aftermarket accessories also draw power after the car is turned off, thereby decreasing the amount of time before the battery loses enough power so that it fails to start the vehicle. Many vehicles today lock the doors through a remote control device, normally one attached to the keys and small enough to put in a pocket. With these vehicles, the OEM electrical system is designed to draw only a miniscule amount of current once the remote control device has locked the doors, however, aftermarket accessories can draw on the battery in these vehicles as well.
As the number of aftermarket systems began to multiply, it became common for a vehicle to contain more than one, and many times multiple systems that require a constant current draw, there was a concurrent rise in the rate at which a vehicle's battery was drained. Indeed, the attachment of several significantly drawing electrical aftermarket accessories can drain a normal battery in a matter of days. Since many vehicle owners leave their cars and trucks parked for more than several days at a time without running them, there has been an undesirable rise in the numbers of dead batteries for such users.
Thus, human technology and innovation in the creation of attractive aftermarket accessories created a problem—the shortened time span before a battery in a vehicle will lose so much charge that it can not start a vehicle—which this invention addresses. To solve this problem, a device had to be invented which could serve as a switch, or interface, between a vehicle's battery, the OEM electrical systems which needed to continue drawing a minimal amount of current to continue functioning while the car was “off”, and the aftermarket accessories which were draining the battery while the vehicle was “off”.
3. Prior Art
The prior art has several examples of attempts to use an electrical signal or device to protect one set of electrical devices from another, but none of the prior art addresses the problem of how to protect a vehicle's OEM electrical system, including the battery, from electrical spikes, shorts, and general drainage due to aftermarket accessories, nor does the prior art teach the use of a remote control device to automatically activate and inactivate such a system.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,697 to Blitz, et. al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,915 to Behrens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,717 to Shuster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,001 to Sheldrake, U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,956 to Sloan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,385 to Jurgens, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,332 to Komuro, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,551 to Clokie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,230 to Gayler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,538 to Tremblay, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,389 to Meister provide vehicle-related electrical protection or safety devices, but none address the issue of protecting a vehicle's battery from being damaged by spikes or shorts in aftermarket systems, or being drained by the aftermarket systems. Others, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,887 to Nickerson, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,088,940 and 4,137,557 to Ciarniello, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,385 to Jurgens, et. al., teach various approaches to providing protection circuits in general electrical applications, but fail to answer the question of how to protect a vehicle's battery and OEM electrical system from spikes and shorts, as well as how to prevent a vehicle's battery from being drained during the time a car is turned off. Finally, there are non-vehicle machines, such as that illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,275 to Czech, et. al., which utilize lockout switches, but do no teach the electrical circuitry features as illustrated by the current patent.
A patent which addresses disconnecting a vehicle's battery is U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,511 to Levinas. This invention automatically disconnects the battery when certain conditions exist, for example and in particular, when the battery voltage reaches a specified low level. Thus, when a battery has been drained to a certain point where there is likelihood that further drainage will endanger the ability of the battery to start the vehicle, the battery is automatically disconnected. While this invention serves as a solid “band aid” measure to prevent a vehicle's battery which has already been drained to a dangerously low lever from being drained further, it does not prevent the exact situation from occurring which this invention will prevent nor can it separate the aftermarket systems' drainage from the regular OEM systems' drain on the battery. Thus, after starting the engine, a user will have to reset all of the OEM equipment (such as clocks and digital odometer readings) which have been inactivated by the disconnection of the battery.
Another issue which has not been addressed by the prior art is how to disconnect a battery from one or more systems without cutting into the factory-installed wiring systems. A major reason to avoid such actions are that with most systems “crashing the dash” or cutting into the existing wiring system as it voids the manufacture's warranty.